You are here

Land mafias and the battle for Karachi's booming real estate

In one of the world's fastest-growing megacities, land disputes are settled by bribery, patronage and sometimes deadly force

Tue, Sep 12, 2017 - 5:50 AM

Karachi is home to about 15 million people, two large seaports and Pakistan's financial infrastructure; Its appeal is set to rise as China pumps in more than US$50 billion to boost infrastructure and transport links across the nation.

PHOTO: BLOOMBERG

A mural of the late Ms Rahman is seen through a window at the OPP's office in Karachi; her death exposed the dark underbelly of real estate development in one of the world's fastest-growing megacities.

PHOTO: BLOOMBERG

Karachi

PERWEEN Rahman was returning home one evening in March 2013 from her job as head of the Orangi Pilot Project (OPP), which for years has pushed land title claims for Karachi's poor, when she was shot three times by a gunman on a motorcycle.